Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-08-19

lowy, smooth hills and fields Of yellow grain,
set off here and there by patch of blue
green forest. 80 Lucy wanted TO take
walk out there ON Sunday did she ~
YES sir ! am sorry and ashamed 10
confess that she did, replied grandma.
Mr. Linmore smiled again as he reached
out and plucked dark blue morning glory
from the vines, and seated himself in the
chair Lucy had left vacant.
"Did you ever see such colors y he ex-
claimed, holding the bell shaped blossom out
at arms length "See how the white at
the bottom shades, first into pink, then red,
then blue, till here at the edge it is quite
black And see how the red continues in
the arms of this five-pointed star. And
here, he continued, splitting the corolla TO
the bottom and pulling away the green ca
lyx, "see how delicately it is all put togeth-
er. And these green sepals in the calyx-
how finely they are vsined with white to
the very tip Where lives, or has ever liv-
ed the man who can rival that =
Grandma watched and listened intently
TO this novel sermon, a little surprised at
his abrupt change of subject Then he
pulled off "A bunch of clematis and sprig
of large leaves from the creeper.
''See, he went on, this clematis leaf.
In the first place, it has started out nearly
six inches then, suddenly turning back,
perhaps because it could find no other sup
port, has doubled upon itself, and curled
round and round on its own stem.
See, here, starting with the stem, it
runs up and on TO the very tip. Dividing
there at the base into five branches, each
divided and subdivided in itself, it furnishes
skeleton TO support the whole. And yet
no two are alike. Strange, isn't it They
are not even symmetrical
"Now, here, in this creeper It is green,
like the other, but how very different in
| structure. In the clematis the leaf begins
abruptly here you notice. a little ridge Of
the green web runs clear down to the main
| joint, where the five leaves start And how
| differently it is veined. All, wonderful,
wonderful Aud what is this on the under
| side An insect-one, two, three-yes, sew
en- Of them-some white, and the rest yell
| low
The clergyman took from his pocket a
small magnifying- glass and Bible Lay
| ing the bunch Of leaves on the book, he bent
over them and went on, self-musing
| Strange little creatures these-scarcely a
sixteenth of an inch long. They seem to
be sucking the juices Of the leaf The two
| kinds-yellow and white-seem marvellous
| ly alike. This bright yellow one is most
beautifully spotted with red. These two
large spots on the head seem TO be eyes
and there are four-two large and two
small ones-on the thorax. These white
ones-why don't they move Oh, I see
they are cast-oh skins Yes here is the
slit on the back. How very perfect even
the six legs are intact. Where was ever a
nurse like Mother Nature-a Father like
ours p
Then Mr.. Linmore looked up, and, smil-
1 L.
said
"Ah l know you expected me to Join in
| your indignation at Lucy's thoughtessness.
No far from it. Can you blame her, mad
am, for tiring Of hours of literature she
can hardly understand, Is it fair to keep
"A physical nature like hers cooped up on
| day like this, even though it be the Sabbath
| Do the birds stop singing and the grass
cease growing because it is the Sabbath
| day You would shut her with all her
elasticity Of body and mind, into box Of
building reared by man, to listen, under
compulsion, TO an hour or so of interpreta-
tions by an old fogy like me, who is hardly
nearer the clue of the great mystery than
she herself. Men and women are far too
prone to associate their ideas of divine wor-
ship with stately edifces, intricate carving
and gothic windows.
/
| the egotist that shall say man can worship
his Creator one whit better-aye, as we'll
in pile of masonry however grand, the
| product of human mind and muscle, than
under the clear blue ceiling of Gods prime
| val church, amidst a carving the hand of
man can never hope to initiate, and sur
rounded by frescoes painted in designs and
colors which the grandest cathedral man
ever reared can never rival
These things-the myriad blades of grass,
the matchless colors of the flowers, the lit
tie insects, which never improve or retro
grade one atom from century TO century
the happy birds, singing among the branch
es in one endless song of praise and glad
ness-these are the things in which, year
after year and century after century, the
| Father delights, Oh, grandma it is you
who mistake Who are we, who come,
stay little hour or two, and are gone like
a breath upon a polished mirror-who are
we that should undertake to say it is not
right TO roam among the wonderful thoughts
of this wonderful Mind Who are we that
we should think ourselves singing "A song of
praise more acceptable than that of the
feathered worshippers whose very existence
is a constant glory to their Maker
"Do l err in thinking this little girl far
nearer to the Fountain head of love, when,
with a quiet, peaceful mind, i'm the Joy and
innocence of young girlhood, she wanders
amidst the marvels of natures handiwork,
watching the butterfly as it hutters from
flower to flower, listening to the music of
the perfume-aden wind in the trees, or of
the waterfall as it plunges over the cliff into
| the depths below-the very voice of God /.
plucking the wild flower from the crevice
in the rocks where the Father set it to teach
| eha pt ha
ask to the mighty Heart of Love than sit
ting here, impatient of restraint, idly watch
ing the minutes 90 by into hours, and from
mere weariness of mind learning to regard
| as a bore the very Book we would have her
love Who shall dare TO say, tell me, that
she can, or ought to, derive more pleasure
and profit from this bound volume than in
turning over, with pure enjoyment, the
leaves of natures book-quite as authentic,
and far more interesting to her child
heart
Let her have both the one contains the
| great secret, the other its key. They were
made to go together"
When grandma looked up and found Mr..
Linmore gone, the town clock was just
striking eleven. Lucy stood in the door
way smiling, as grandma actually yawned
and rubbed her eyes.
The curious thing about it is, not that
Lucy and Tom, with grandma's full con-
sent, spent that whole Sunday afternoon
rambling through country roads not that
grandma sat till the family came home,
watching, with eyes that would grow dim,
the mountain in the south but that Just at
| L o'clock that Sabbath morning, after the
offertory, Mr.. Linmore rose in the pulpit,
the softly-colored light from the windows
behind him shining down on his dear old
white head, opened the big Bible in front
of him, and announced his text-the eighth
verse of the twentieth chapter of Exodus
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it
holy. N-.IbdHy EreHiug Journal
"Look at that rabbit, ma, " said little Tot
as she curiously watched the peculiar twin
klen of the animals features. every time
he stops to smell anything, he seems to
stutter with his nose "-Yonkers Gazette.